On
Day 2 of Sega Gamers Day, Sega disclosed what new features
gamers will be able to take advantage of when they connect to
the Internet with Sonic Adventure. The heart of the Internet
acccess will be to interact and update Sonic in various ways.
By updating, we don't mean in a PC way of bug fixes, but we'll
get into that in just a bit.
Sega has implemented the official Sonic Adventure website
in a unique fashion. Most of the graphics and all of the music
are being read off the GD-ROM while the html is being read
from the site's server. Unfortunately the is accessable only
through Sonic Adventure as even Sega's own web browser won't
access it. On the flip side, the browser within Sonic
Adventure cannot connect to any other site either. Sega plans
to update the site for about a year after the game is
released, but the content will remain available beyond that.
The first feature of the site will supply hints, walk
throughs, and maps for the game. Hints will range from basic
controls and other tips for new players, to extensive spoilers
that will help you if you were to get stuck and frustrated.
Sega has been nice enough to include very detailed maps for
those who get lost or even need a hint of where to go.
With your Chao (for some reason now pronounced "chow"),
you'll be able to access two features on the network. You can
take him to the Chao Doctor to have him evaluated to find out
his characteristics. One of the characteristics that will be
told, is what character your Chao favors. Sega plans to tally
this into a worldwide vote. Also you'll be able to place your
Chao online so that anyone who wants to, can download it. If
you want only a certain person or set of people to download
it, you can set a password for protection. This will not
remove the Chao from your VMU, but it will make a duplicate
copy on to the network, though you will only be allowed one
Chao stored online at a time.
If you don't really like your Chao, you'll be able to buy
items online with the emblems you find in Sonic Adventure,
that will enhance your Chao. You can also purchase a special
Chao that can only be found online, such as the NiGHTS Chao.
To top all of this off, the European version of Sonic
Adventure will share the same US Sonic Adventure site. Sega
also plans to re-release Sonic Adventure in Japan with all the
changes found in the US version, as well as the ability to
connect to the same site. This will allow people to compare
times, rank among other gamers, or even converse on the forum.
This will truely be the first console game that will allow
everyone around the world to interact with each other through
a common game.
As we mentioned before, there will be small Sonic Adventure
"patches" that Sega will be placing online. For example, the
first update will be a special patch that will decorate the
city with balloons and other decorations to celebrate the
launch of the system. Another example involved a contest
sponsored by AT&T. The contest involves you scoring the
best time on a specific track within the game. In this case,
Sega demonstrated a modified Speed Highway with AT&T
billboards everywhere. Also at one spot in the level, there
were actually new polygon platforms added that gave you a
shortcut through part of the level. This was a part of the
patch that you downloaded when you entered the contest.
Patches like these will be a common update in Sonic Adventure
and Sega plans to periodically have them for specific dates
such as Halloween or Christmas. It will be like changing the
graphic themes around in NiGHTS.
Sonic Adventure stands to make an innovating new move of
adding online features in a console game. While other games,
including the Japanese version of Sonic Adventure, have had
limited online support, as said before, this will be the first
game to actually work around the world. Sega stands to set a
new standard for all new console games to be released from
this point on if this takes off and becomes popular. Sure, it
may be sort of a gimmick, but I find it to be unique,
interesting, and an overall great additional feature. It does
nothing but enhance and add replayability to the game.
